Most industrial sheaves are designed to accept tapered bushings. Tapered bushings enable easy interchangeability from one shaft size to another and provide a press fit when tightened on the shaft. There are three basic families of tapered bushings, QD, Browning and Taperlock, each with different models.

Within each family, there are different size bushings, each of which has a defined range of bore sizes. QD bushings have a flange with a single split, and part numbers that contain the letters, such as SH, SDS or SK, depending on the physical overall size. Browning bushings have a solid flange, and the most common size series are H, P1 and Q1. Taperlock bushings have no flange and are secured with setscrews located between the bushing and the sheave hub. Unless you specify otherwise, we will supply sheaves with QD bushings, which are produced by a number of manufacturers. Metric and spline bore bushings are also available.